


i drink too much coffee and i think of you often

by LilacsAndLilies



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, College, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Gunshot Wounds (mentioned), M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Several Sci-Fi Character References, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, or at least he will soon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsAndLilies/pseuds/LilacsAndLilies
Summary: Peter has a penchant for using fictional character names when ordering his coffee. This is successful in getting him three things: a new friend, some anonymity, and a potential boyfriend.Edit: Sequel/Chapter 2 now added
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 30
Kudos: 521
Collections: Parkner Coffee Shop Collection, The Adventures of Spiderling and Friends





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Patricia by Florence + the Machine.
> 
> This is canon all the way through Endgame, with the 'minor' difference that Tony is alive.

It was 8 in the morning and the Coffee Club at MIT just opened for the day. Peter was, of course, one of the first people inside. Peter liked the Coffee Club because it was quiet and out of the way. After the snap, Tony made no efforts to hide that Peter was a part of his family, and that meant he got a bit of unwanted attention. Besides the baristas, there was almost no one who came in often. The shop had many loyal customers who had set schedules for when they came in. By the end of the first semester of Peter’s freshman year, both the baristas and the regular customers were used to him, so it was a nice place where he didn’t have to worry about the stares that came from being Tony Stark’s pseudo son. However, as it was the start of the new semester, there were new people there due to all the shifts in schedules. It, sadly led to a couple more stares, but it was less than he was having to deal with in his classes, and he knew everyone else would get used to them. It was still better than other coffee places.

When he had first come in, he was still trying to avoid attention, so he tried to give the barista a fake name. He thought he had been successful, but that hope was dashed when the barista, Gwen, called him Peter. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, something that Peter was very thankful of, and they soon became fast friends. Peter continued to give fake names, which slowly shifted to fictional characters, just to continue the joke.

Gwen was, sadly, out sick today, and in her place was a new barista. Peter had continued with the fictional theme for the day, using Harley Quinn for today. The barista looked a little confused, but Peter didn’t have enough caffeine in him yet to process it. He was sitting at a table, his computer in front of him, when the door chimed and another student walked in.

The newcomer gave the barista a name, Harley, which Peter would not have been able to hear without his super hearing. It was a little ironic, considering Peter had just given the same name, but hopefully it wouldn’t be an issue. 

Harley sat down at the table next to Peter. Peter pushed aside his computer to get a closer look at him. His dirty blond hair was windswept, curls falling on his face. His eyes were the brightest blue, and Peter was reminded of the clear skies he swung through in New York. Harley looked calm, as he began to pull his computer out of his bag. 

Peter didn’t know why he was so interested in this random stranger, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He shook his head and tried to focus back on his work. Still, he found himself taking little peeks at Harley every once in a while.

The Barista called out Harley and the boy in question jumped up rushing over to the counter. Peter knew he probably shouldn’t be paying so much attention, but he couldn’t help himself as he started to watch Harley again.

The blond thanked the barista before taking a large sip of his coffee. Suddenly his face twisted up in disgust and he stuck his tongue out. “I didn’t order this.”

The barista looked up at him in confusion. Then, his eyes grew wide in shock. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I think I gave you the wrong coffee. This was supposed to go to someone else with the same name.”

It was at that moment that Peter remembered what name he had given the barista. He hopped out of his seat before heading to the counter. “I think that’s mine.” He smirked, before gesturing to the drink in the other boy’s hand.

He reached out to grab the drink, but the barista pulled it back before Peter could do so. “I’m so sorry about this. I’ll get you a new drink, on the house.” He turned to Harley. “Your drink will be here shortly.” The barista quickly walked back to make the drinks.

Harley just nodded, a confused look on his face. “So, your name is also Harley?”

Peter just laughed, “No, actually. It’s a long story. My name’s Peter.” He held out a hand.

Harley tentatively shook his hand, squinting at him. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. “You’re… Peter Parker! You’re like, famous.”

Inwardly Peter groaned. This was going to happen eventually, but he had hoped he would get a little more time. “Yup, that’s me. Well, I should be getting back to work, barista’s probably gonna take a while, he’s new here.” He walked back to his table. 

“I’ll come with. Apparently my drink is gonna take a while too.” Harley followed Peter back to his own table, before picking up his stuff. “Mind if I sit next to you?” 

Realistically, Peter knew he should say no. This was probably someone trying to use him for popularity or something, but he couldn’t find it in him to turn the frankly gorgeous boy away. He gestured at the seat next to him, which Harley promptly sat in, before pulling out his laptop again.

“So, wanna tell me the story behind why you used Harley for the coffee name? Something for secrecy or?” Harley brought up as soon as he got settled in.

Peter looked at the blond from over his own laptop. He weighed his options before deciding this lab report and write up could wait a little longer. It wasn’t due anytime soon anyway. He pushed his computer to the side. “Yeah, it was under the attempts to keep things on the down low. So was coming to this coffee shop in general. I usually use random fictional characters' names for my drinks. As you can tell, the attempts at secrecy were… unsuccessful. Gwen found me out the first time. At this point I just continue it for the joke. I shouldn’t have done it since Gwen isn’t here today, but I guess I wasn’t really thinking.”

Harley had also abandoned his own laptop in favor of listening to Peter’s story. “Is Gwen the normal morning barista?” Peter nodded. “Cool. I used to come by in the afternoon, so there was someone else here instead. Because of the schedule switches as all, I found myself coming earlier today. Company is good though, might come early again.” He threw Peter a flirtatious smile. 

“It would be a pleasure to have you.” Peter made a fake bow, before they both burst out in laughter. Soon enough, they both got their individual coffees, the correct ones this time, and the conversation moved towards more common things. “So, what are you majoring in?”

“Mechanical Engineering. Minor in Math. You?”

“Biochemical engineering, Minor in Business.” Peter felt Harley’s look on him and was already preparing for the inevitable question about taking over SI. 

“Sounds interesting. So whatcha' doing right now?” Peter looked up, shocked that Harley hadn’t bothered asking anything in more detail. It was almost suspicious that the other boy wasn’t treating Peter any differently at all. Still, he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He answered the question, and they both fell back into conversation.

It was almost an hour later when Harley finally got up. “Well this has been fun, but I have to go to class now. See you tomorrow?” He looked hopeful.

“Of course.” Harley beamed, and Peter couldn’t keep the smile off of his face either.

* * *

The next day Peter was once again at the Coffee Club at 8 am. Luckily, Gwen was back. He went up to the counter. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. The barsta yesterday mixed up my order with someone else, made quite the incident.”

Gwen just grinned. “Did you both have the same names or something?”

Peter nodded and Gwen burst out laughing. “Wait seriously? I was kidding. That’s hilarious. What was the name? And what’s the name for today?”

“Yesterday it was Harley Quinn, today, let’s go with… James T. Kirk.”

Gwen just nodded, moving to make his drink. “So, who’s this Harley?” Peter’s cheeks flushed and Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Oh, now I got to hear this.”

At that very moment, the door chimed and in walked Harley. Peter turned to face the blond as Gwen called from behind him. “Here’s your drink, Captain Kirk.” She had a grin on her face.

Harley walked up to the counter. “So today you’re the good Captain huh?”

Peter nodded. “Yup. And this is Gwen, the only good barista on this campus.”

“Well, It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Harley made a fake bow and Peter couldn’t help but smile at Harley’s ridiculous actions. “If you’re the Kirk, then I’ll be… Spock.”

Peter gave Harley a look. “You’re stealing my thing now?”

“More like sharing.” Harley just grinned, and Peter couldn’t find it in himself to be mad. 

He gave his thanks to Gwen, who clearly gave him a look saying, you’re explaining this later. Then he grabbed his stuff and settled down at his usual table. Harley made his order and joined him. 

They once again spent the hour chatting. However, as soon as Harley left, Gwen came out from behind the counter to sit in front of Peter. “So… who was that?”

Peter sighed. “That was Harley. No, you’re not allowed to pester him with questions or anything. Yes, I think he’s cute. No, I’m not going to make a move. Is that all?”

“Why aren’t you going to make a move?”

“Don’t know if he swings that way.”

“No harm in trying.” Gwen tried to needle him into making a move.

“Maybe later. But I don’t wanna ruin what might be an actual friend who doesn’t care about using me to get to Tony. God knows I need more of those.”

Gwen just nodded, before going back to take her place behind the counter again. Peter turned back to his computer, but all of his thoughts were of the blond he found himself sharing coffee with.

* * *

The next week passed by in a blur of coffee in the mornings, and studying in the afternoon. Spider-Man had been missing for almost a semester now, bar important missions. They had put up a press release saying that he had things to work through and that he was only going to be on the reserve team for a while, but that didn’t stop Peter from feeling twitchy. Every part of him was rebelling, telling him he needed to be out on the streets helping people, but he knew he needed his degree. His only compromise was to work as fast as possible and get his degree within the next year and a half. Of course, all of the attempts to work so fast left him with little time to enjoy himself, and spending time talking to Harley quickly became the best part of his day. 

They kept playing with characters, going from Superman and Batman, to Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker. Each day brought new conversation and Peter could feel himself falling farther and farther for Harley. Still, he couldn’t tell if Harley was willing to reciprocate. The southern boy was naturally very flirty, and Peter’s own insecurities led him to believe any actions could be chalked up to his own nature. Peter had settled to have Harley as a friend, and as nothing more. 

They had built up their own camaraderie, and Peter was happy to have someone who didn’t care about how he knew Tony Stark. The reason for that was absolutely not one that Peter expected.

“I’ve met Tony Stark before.” Harley says out of the blue and Peter feels something inside of him break. He had hoped that Harley would be different, but it looked like he had just been biding his time.

Harley saw the look in Peter’s eyes and quickly moved to finish his statement. “No I promise I’m not making this up. I was eleven and he broke into my garage. Remember, I said I was from Rose Hill?” Peter nodded, a little intrigued in his story. “Well there was this weird explosion in my hometown that he was investigating. There was this weird lady that glowed and stuff and I kinda saved his life. A couple days later he completely stocked my garage with some of the latest equipment.”

Peter was listening to Harley’s story and somewhere along the lines, something clicked inside his head. “Wait, you’re Harley Keener? Tony told me about you. Said you saved his life.”

Harley nodded, a grin on his face. “Yeah, that’s me. Wow, I can’t believe he remembered me.”

“He doesn’t just forget people that save his life. Why didn’t you tell me before?” The surprise that Peter felt faded to leave confusion and betrayal behind.

Harley looked a little sheepish. “Well, I could tell you were having some trouble with the fame and stuff, and I really like you, so I didn’t want to push you away but mentioning this earlier you know? I didn’t want it to seem like I was here because you know Tony. ‘Cause I don’t really care about that much. Like, yeah, that was life changing, and the things he did for me were such a big part of me falling in love with building, so I owe him a lot, but I didn’t really think he would remember or have time for me, and I didn’t really want to bother.”

Peter just nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. I probably wouldn’t have really talked with you either if you had brought it up earlier, so I guess I’m glad you didn’t. Still, it’s pretty funny isn’t it?”

Harley let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, it is.”

Peter just smiled. Then, suddenly, his brain replayed a specific part of Harley’s statement.  _ I really like you _ . Did he mean that in a romantic way or? Peter looked up at Harley. “You ‘really like me?’”

Harley looked like he was holding back a blush. “Uh yeah.” 

Peter could help the smile that was showing up on his face. “Oh, well that’s cool, cause I really like you too.” 

“Oh.” Harley looked dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, his alarm went off. He looked at the time. “Oh, shit, I have to get to class now. I- I’m so sorry, we’ll pick this up again later.” He grabbed his stuff and ran out the door, leaving Peter behind at the table.

* * *

Peter was more than a little disappointed that Harley had rushed out like that. But it wasn’t like he did that because he wanted to right? He had somewhere to be. It was later than normal, so it makes sense that he would have somewhere to be. His brain kept trying to make up excuses for Harley. 

It was once again 8 am, and Peter was waiting for Harley to show up.

“Hey Gwen, name today is Ianto Jones.” Peter kept his eyes trained on the door, waiting for the chime of the door.

“Sure Ianto. What happened yesterday? You looked a little upset when lover boy sped out the door.”

Peter turned to face Gwen. “Lover boy?” 

She snorted. “Yeah, you two are so adorable, it’s sickening. How much longer is it going to take either of you to make a move?”

Peter just dropped his head into his arms. “That’s the point. I was going to make a move when he left. He said he was late for something.”

Gwen put a comforting arm on his shoulder. “I’m sure he had a reason. He really likes you, you know? He wouldn’t leave if there wasn’t a reason.” 

Peter just nodded before moving to sit down. A few minutes later, the door chimed. Peter’s head snapped up to see Harley at the door. He whispered something to Gwen before sitting down next to Peter. “Peter I- I’m so sorry for running out on you like that. I had a meeting with a professor that I completely forgot about.”

“It’s fine. I understand.” Peter didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Well, as I said, we can pick up where we left off. In which case, I was going to do this.” Before Peter could think or say anything else, Harley had pressed his lips against Peter’s and anything Peter was going to say completely fled his mind. He melted into the kiss, taking in the smell of Harley’s cologne. It was a chaste kiss, and Harley soon pulled away, but it meant more to Peter than anything else. It felt like hope.

“So, would you like to go out with me?” Harley smiled at Peter.

“Of course I will, Mr. Keener. You know, I don’t have your number.” Peter felt a grin form on his face, matching the one on Harley’s. 

“Oh, well that will need to be corrected immediately.” He pulled out a pen and wrote his number on Peter’s hand. “Text me, I’ll make plans.” Peter’s only response was to kiss Harley again. 

“Orders for Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. One fictional couple for the new couple.”

Harley and Peter split apart, laughing. They went to pick up their drinks, before sitting down, starting the first day of being together.

“I can’t wait to see Tony’s face when he hears this.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley finally meets Tony again. Neither had expected it would be under these circumstances though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for a friend who requested that I write a sequel. I hope you all enjoy this!

The next few months were some of the happiest of Peter's life. Coffee meet ups turned to study dates turned to late nights out. Harley started staying over more often than not at Peter's apartment (courtesy of Tony). Waking up to Harley's face was more than he could have ever asked for.

About two months into their relationship, Peter had gotten called out on a mission. Spider-Man had taken a break to go to college in Boston, but he was still on a reserve list for emergencies. Apparently this mission was one. It was just a weekend trip, so Peter told Harley he had to visit home and set off. He felt terrible lying to Harley but he couldn’t tell the southern boy about Spider-Man, it was too dangerous and he couldn’t do that to Harley. 

The Quinjet came to pick him up in Boston on Friday afternoon. The doors opened to reveal Nat. 

"Hey Nat!" Peter smiled when he saw the former assassin. The two had gotten close and Peter saw her as a parental figure of sorts.

"Hello Peter." She gave him a warm smile, leaning against the hatch of the quintet. "You ready?"

He just nodded, walking inside. He lifted an arm to show the nanotech web shooters on his wrist.

Nat followed him into the jet, settling into the pilot’s seat and taking them up. Peter settled in next to her. “So, what’s the mission?” 

“Well, it’s pretty top secret, so we’ll be off the grid, but here’s the plan-”

* * *

It was Monday morning and Harley was starting to get a little antsy. Peter had said he would meet him at the Coffee Club at 8 am, the same time as always. It was now 9, and Peter was nowhere to be found. This wouldn’t have been too worrying if Peter had texted him at all in the last two days, but he had nothing. The last text Peter sent him was Friday afternoon. It was complete radio silence after that. His messages weren’t even sending. It was like Peter had gone completely offline and it put Harley on edge.

Gwen was standing at the counter when she saw Harley fidgeting and mindlessly shaking his leg. “Harley? You ok?” She looked around for the brunet she never saw Harley without. “Where is Peter?” 

Harley dropped his head into his hands. “That’s the issue, I don’t know.”

Gwen frowned and came out from behind the counter to sit in front of Harley. “What happened?”

“He said he had a family thing to deal with and he would be gone for the weekend, but he said he was gonna be back to have coffee today.”

Gwen gave him a pitying look and put her arm on his shoulder. “Maybe he just got help up? The issue went on a little longer?”

“But then he would have texted me about it! I haven’t gotten anything from him all weekend. His family is his aunt and the Starks, all of whom are in New York. There’s no way he would be without the internet. All of the Starks seem to be fine if you look around social media and everything.” Harley started rambling.

“Did you really look at Tony Stark’s twitter to see if everything was ok?” Gwen almost laughed at how extensive that sounded, but then she remembered that Peter was probably missing and the smile disappeared from her face. 

Harley just nodded, his worry slowly filling more space in his mind. He didn’t even think to defend himself, instead focused on the unsent messages on his phone. “Where is he?” 

Gwen just sighed. “I’m worried too. But maybe he just got helped up with something and his phone is dead?”

“I don’t know.” Harley bit his lip.

“Would be great if you could just call Tony Stark or something and ask where Peter was.” Gwen said, as he got up and headed back to her counter.

Harley froze at her statement. “Call Tony Stark…” He whispered to himself, the gears in his head turning. Suddenly he jumped out of his seat. “Thanks for the help Gwen!” He yelled out at her as he rushed out of the shop and towards his dorm, leaving a confused Gwen behind.

Harley walked into his dorm and pulled out his laptop. Saved on it was a picture of a small note with a number and a few words underneath it. Harley pulled out his phone and dialed the number before pausing. He clutched the phone in his hand and braced himself, taking a deep breath before clicking call. 

Harley heard the ringtone and his heart pumping faster.  _ This is for Peter _ , he reminded himself. Finally, he heard a small click. “Who’s this? I don’t recognize the number, how did you get it?”

Harley gulped. “Harley Keener. You probably don’t-”

“Harley?” Tony responded incredulously. “You kept my number.”

“Yeah, I did.” He didn’t know why he didn’t delete it years ago.

“Why?”

“In case I needed it.”

“So what do you need?”

“Where’s Peter?”

“Peter?” Harley thought that was probably a record, confusing the great Tony Stark twice in a minute.

“Yeah, Peter Parker, my boyfriend.” Concern slipped into Harley’s voice. “He said he was visiting NYC on family stuff and that he would be back this morning. He’s not here. Where is he?”

“Your what now?” Tony almost shouted into the phone.

“Did Peter not tell you?”  _ oh lord, this was a bad idea. _ Harley debated putting down the phone.

“He said he had a boyfriend. Didn’t mention a name. Can’t believe it’s you.” 

Harley nodded at that. He could hear the disbelief. “Well it’s me. Lucky coincidences. Now where is he?” 

Tony paused, an awkward silence on the line. “He’s here.”

“And?” 

“He’ll be back soon.”

“When?” Harley was getting frustrated at the lack of answers.

“Soon.” 

Harley almost growled. “I don’t have any important classes today, I’m coming down there, you better let me in.” Then he ended the call, grabbed his keys, and walked out the door.

* * *

It was about 3 hours later when Harley finally found himself and his motorcycle standing in front of Stark Tower. He barely processed the extravagant building as he marched inside. A casual mention of his name at the front desk got him into the private elevator. He stepped inside and nerves overtook him again. Was something wrong with Peter? Why wouldn’t he answer his phone? What if he was intruding? What would it be like to see Tony again?

“Hello Mr. Keener.” A voice said.

Harley jumped. “Who’s that?”

“I am Friday, an AI programmed by Mr. Stark to run the tower and his suits.” 

Harley let out a sigh before looking up at the ceiling, his worry momentarily cast aside to study the AI. “So you know everything that happens here? How often do you update based on input video and audio?”

“I do. Any other information is for classified access.”

Harley deflated. “Oh. Where’s Peter?”

“Peter is in the Med Bay, would you like me to take you to him?”

Panic clawed up Harley’s throat again. “Yes! Please.”

The elevator started carrying Harley up. The ride seemed to take forever and it took all of Harley’s willpower not to request Friday to move faster. Finally, the doors opened, revealing a small hallway. Harley walked down to find a door that was barely open. He cautiously pushed it open to see Peter lying on the hospital bed in the center of the room, a blanket tucked over him. Harley took another step in to see Tony Stark sitting in the chair next to the bed. The man looked different, even from the news Harley had seen only a few days earlier. He looked more worn down and open. The man suddenly jumped up when the door squeaked open. “Harley? You’re early.” He looked down at his watch. “I thought you wouldn’t be here for at least an hour.” 

Harley didn’t look away from Peter. Instead choosing to just stand there, taking in Peter’s features. The brunet was pale and hooked up to a bunch of different machines. “I drove my motorcycle, might have passed the speed limit a couple times. What happened to him?”

“He-” Tony paused. Harley turned to look at the billionaire with a straight face. “What happened to him?”

“You look different. I don’t know why I expected you to look the same.”

“What. Happened.”

“You better take a seat.” Tony gestured to the seat next to him. Harley shook his head, only taking a single step towards Peter. He felt himself step on a corner of the blanket that was on the ground, and watched as it slowly slipped further down. It was as if time slowed when he saw the top of a familiar red and blue suit peek out from under the blanket. Harley’s mind worked at full speed as it connected together all the connections and inside jokes and disappearances. Behind him he vaguely processed Tony slumping back into the chair. 

“Peter is Spider-Man?”

Tony just nodded. Harley took up his offer and dropped into the chair next to Tony. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“That’s something both of you need to talk about when he wakes up.”

Harley just nodded. “So, will you tell me what happened now?”

“He was on a mission. It was supposed to be a simple weekend trip but the spider kid had to go and get himself shot.”

“Shot?!” Harley got up to take a closer look at Peter, but Tony grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back into the chair. 

“He had enhanced healing. The wound has already healed over nicely. The doctor said he’s just resting now and should wake up any moment. If he wanted to, he could have been back in Boston by nightfall.” 

“Oh.” Harley just nodded, looking over at Peter. A frown covered his face as he saw all of the tubes. No matter how ok Peter was, the tubes still set Harley on edge. Instead, he focused his attention on the other person in the room “It’s nice to see you again.”

Tony smiled. “Same to you kid. Didn’t think I’d see you again, especially not as my kid’s boyfriend.”

Harley laughed, but it was hollow, still tinged by the revelations he had just faced. “Yeah. Me and Peter were laughing about it back when we first met. We both placed bets on how you would react.” 

Tony just stared at him and Harley felt like his soul was on display. “You know I had a whole talk planned out for his mystery boyfriend. Don’t think now is the right time to give it to you. Don’t know if you need it.”

Harley sat up straight. “What do you mean? You don’t know me anymore.”

“I doubt you’re any less of a smartass, but that’s not what I meant. I see the way you look at him, like he’s the whole world. He’s been keeping something this important from you and you’ve already forgiven him.”

“No I haven’t.” Harley interjected, even though he knew Tony was right.

Tony just gave him a look of disbelief before ignoring his statement. “You love him, and that would be clear to anyone who saw you two together. You make him happy and I can tell it’s the same for you.”

“Wow.” Harley searched for something to break the serious tone, feeling uncomfortable in the light of Tony Stark’s quiet pride. “That was deep. Didn’t know you had it in you old man.” 

“I’m a father now, I’ve changed.” Tony looked at Harley and smiled. “So. How are you doing? What’s your major? Peter’s been tight lipped about you, for now obvious reasons.”

“Mechanical Engineering.” 

Tony nodded in approval. “Still got the potato gun?”

Harley smiled. “Yeah I do. It has received several updates.”

“Well if you wanted to mess around with it, or anything else, you’re always welcome to come visit the lab with Peter.”

“Seriously?” Harley had an incredulous look on his face. “You would let me in?”

“Well yeah. You’re a smart kid. Peter’s friends have been around the lab so there’s no reason you wouldn’t be allowed too. Besides..” He paused. “I always regretted not reaching out to you again. I thought about you after the snap you know? Tried to see what happened to you. Was too much of a coward to say anything afterwards. Guess this was the universe’s way of telling me I should try again.”

Harley froze. What was he supposed to say to that? “It was really cool meeting you, you know? Not many kids can say that they saved Tony Stark.” That got a smile out of the billionaire. “I always thought about calling the number, but I didn’t want to bother you, and what would I even say? I don’t even know where I’m going with this.” Harley dropped his head into his hands. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… yeah. I would love to come next time Peter comes by.”

“Great. You’ve got to meet Morgan. You’ll love her.” 

And with that one sentence Harley relaxed. The entire situation had him on edge, and it was nice to have something like that, something that gave him time to slip back into his skin. “I can’t wait to meet her.” 

Both of them settled back into a comfortable silence. Soon enough they heard a noise from Peter and watched as the brunet slowly pulled himself up. “Harley?”

“Peter!” Harley got up and rushed to Peter’s side. 

“What do you remember?” Tony called out from behind them. 

Peter looked between Tony and Harley, fear on his face.

"Peter, look down." Harley gestured to the spider suit.

Peter's eyes grew wide. "I- Harley. I was going to tell you I just- I didn't want to ruin what we had. Everyone who knows is always in danger and they worry so much and I'm- I'm a burden to everyone who knows and I didn’t want to worry you."

Harley just leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Peter's lips. "I'm not upset. I wish you told me. Worry about you is not a burden. I want to help and be there for you. Plus," Harley smirked, "Knowing my boyfriend is a superhero kinda turns me on." Harley could hear light gagging noises behind him and smiled. Peter nodded. "Ok, now answer the mechanic's question."

"Uh, well, I remember being on the mission with Nat. We were trying to get out of the building when… I got shot. We rushed out after that and then everything went black." He looked down at the wound.

"It's already mostly healed," said Tony.

"And what about Nat? Is she ok?"

"She's fine. After you got shot she got you in the Quinjet and you both came straight back here. Your little disappearing act worried your boyfriend who came running."

Peter just nodded before suddenly freezing. "Wait, I missed you figuring out about Harley! Aww man."

Friday chipped in. "I took a video for you Peter. You can see it when you are well."

Peter perked up. "Thanks Fri!"

"You are welcome Peter." The AI sounded warm. 

Harley wasn't surprised that Peter could make even a machine sound caring. He turned to Tony. "Could I see how Friday works?"

Tony shrugged. "I can't see why not. But it'll have to wait because both of you are missing class right now and I will not help you miss more."

"Next time?" Peter asked.

"Tony said I could come visit with you next time." Harley pointed avoided looking at Peter, suddenly worried about what he might say.

"That's great! You can spend time with May and Morgan and Pepper! I was looking forward to introducing all of you." Peter beamed at Harley and Harley felt the corners of his lips twitch up as well.

Tony jumped up from his seat. "Speaking of the ladies, I should let them know you're awake. I'll leave you two alone." Tony stepped out of the room.

Harley took a seat on Peter's bed. "So how are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but not too bad. I'm glad you're here. And I'm sorry again for not telling you about all of this."

"It's fine, really. I get it. I'm just glad you're ok."

"I am definitely ok. In fact, I am more than ok and definitely up for activities I usually do with my lovely boyfriend." Peter grinned.

Harley put on a mock clueless expression. "You mean drinking coffee?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "No I meant this." He pulled Harley into a kiss, and for all the wacky things that had happened to Harley today, he couldn’t say he minded, if it ended with him here, in Peter's arms. There was nowhere else he'd rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a server event we have over at a parkner discord. If you want to join the fun, go to this link: https://discord.gg/cRkmzWR
> 
> Talk to me on tumblr @lilacsandlilies4  
> or on discord @LilacsAndLilies


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